The X-Ray Machine

An X-ray machine takes special pictures that show the inside of your body. Doctors use X-rays to look at your bones and check for broken ones. Getting an X-ray does not hurt at all.

How X-Rays Were Discovered

X-rays were discovered in 1895 by a German scientist named Wilhelm Roentgen. He was doing experiments with electricity when he noticed a strange glow. He found that invisible rays could pass through skin but not through bones.

Roentgen took an X-ray picture of his wife's hand. You could see all the bones and her wedding ring. He called them X-rays because X means something unknown. His discovery changed medicine forever.

How X-Rays Are Used Today

When you get an X-ray, you stand or lie still while the machine takes a picture. The X-rays pass through your soft body parts but are blocked by bones. This creates a picture showing your skeleton.

Doctors use X-rays to check for broken bones, cavities in teeth, and other health problems. Airports also use X-ray machines to scan luggage and check for dangerous items inside bags.

Fun Facts

• The first X-ray picture ever taken was of a human hand with a ring on it.
• X-rays were discovered by accident during an experiment.
• Dentists use X-rays to find cavities hiding between your teeth.

Did You Know?

Wilhelm Roentgen won the very first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for discovering X-rays.